Improvement in farm-gates



@eine tste datent @Hita Letters Patent No. 81,982, dated September 8, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN FARM-GATES..

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TO ALL WIICM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, LEwIs CHARLES, of Clear Springs, in the county of Washington, and State of Maryland, have invented a new and improved Farm-Gate; and I do hereby declare that the followingis afnll, clear, and exact description of the construction and operation of the same, reference being had` to the accompanying drawings, (making a part of this specification,) in which- A I Figure 1 is a side elevation.

Figure 2 is a top view.

This invention is a neat, cheap, and easily-constructed slide-gate, so arranged and operating that it will ordinarily open a passage wide enough to admit a single animal, but, when necessary, can lbe easily opened to admit a team of any size. v

In the drawings, A indicates the gate; B, the panel of fenceto which it is attached, and by which it is supported; and C the panel, against which it closes. The gate slides longitudinally upon a supporting-bar, D, to and from the panel C. The supporting-bar is made in two pieces, one, d, rmly and immovably xed to the panel B, the other, d', hinged at or near its centre, e, to the panel. The adjacent ends of the parts 0l and el are bevelled, as shown at m m, fig. 1, so that, when the projecting right-hand end of the supporting-bar is depressed to a horizontal position, as shown in the drawings, the bevelled ends will t together, so as to form of the two pieces one continuous supportingbar or track, upon the whole length of which the gate can slide, the bevel of the part d lapping over that of the part d, and holding the part d in a'horizontal position.

The pivot e may be either attached to the end-post of the panel B, or to the rail, or a supporting-standard, at some distancefrom the end of the panel. i g p The gate mayl slide upon trucks or rollers, 1 r, resting and running back and forth on the bar D. One, two, or three rollers may be employed, and, if more than one are used, the two nearest to the right-hand end of the gate, as seen in the drawings, may be so arranged that, when thelniddle o ne is over the jointmm, the righthand one shall be over the pivot e. A spring-stop, s, may be employed in connection with this device, its upper -end springing under the bevelled end of the part d', when the latter is in a horizontal position, and confining it in that position, as seen in the drawings. By springing the upper end of the stop towards the left, as shown in tig. 1, the bevelled end of the bar d is liberated, and may be swung downward, so as to elevate the projecting right-hand end out of the way of carriages passing over the road between the panels B and C. A pimp, may be fixed to the innerside of the sliding gate, at a suitable point, so that, when the gate is slid back, or to the left, suiciently far, the pin will strike against the upper end of the spring-stop, and throw it back out of the way, liberating bar cZ, as abovedescribed.

The operation oi' this simple and easily-constructed gate is as follows:

The projectingright-hand end of the bar D extends, ordinarily, half way across the road, and is fixed in the position shown in fig. 1, by means of the spring-stop,vthe bevelled ends, and the pivot e, above described. In this position the gate can be slid towards panel C, until the tenon or latch, t, enters a mortise or Vlock inthe endpos't of panel C,nnd fustens the gate. When thus fastened, the roller 7' will rest on the bar D, near vits `outer extremity, and over or near the middle of the rond.

To admit a single animal or a man through the gate, it may le slid back to any convenient distance; If slid back so far that its right-hand end passes the end 0il the bar D, the latter will still project to the middle of the road, and prevent the passage oi' carriages, &c. If, however, it be desired to admit carriages through the gate, it is only necessary to slide it back, until the roller 1' shall pass over the joint and rest upon the part d, and to turn the part d upon its pivot e, until the projecting end is elevated out of the way of carriages, &c.in the road.

A stop may he provided to prevent the arm d from turning back too far. A simple pin,'projecting from the upper rail of' panel B, will answer for the purpose.

If the pivotbe fixed to the end-post of panel B, there might occasionally be some diiieulty in taking loads of hay, straw, te., through the gate, from the fact that the bulging sides of the load might come in contact with the upper end of the bar d', when the latter is thrown upto a vertical'positiombut, by placing the pivot farther back, the bar could be thrown up to a. more than vertical-position, or its upper end be inclined back, so as-to be lentirely out of the way, under all circumstances.

The part-d may be continued to the left-hand end of the panel, ifldesired, and, when a roller is used on the left-hand end of the gate, this construction of the bar will be rendered necessary.

The upper side of the bar D may be shod with iron, er any other suitable material, to prevent its Wearing away. l

One or more projecting arms or clasps, a a, may-be attached to the upper part of the gate, and extend over the upper rail of the panel B, to hold the gate more steady, and'guide it in its movement back and forth.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination of the slidinggate A with the pivoted supporting-bar d d', substantially 'as described.

2. The combination of the spring-stop s, bar d d', panel B, and'gate A, substantially as described. To the above' specication of my invention I have signed my hand, this first day of July, 1868.

,LEWIS CHARLES.

Witnesses:

CHARLES A. PETTIT, A'. M. TANNER. 

